Come and join us for our 9th annual Howlween Bash to benefit the animals at the Warwick Animal Shelter Saturday, Oct. 27 at 7:30 p.m. at Knights of Columbus Hall. There will be a DJ, raffles, door prizes, costume prizes and cash. Tickets are $15 and include dinner.

Costumes are optional, although we find that most people do dress up. It’s fun, and people get really creative! Adults only, and no pets. Money raised will be used for medical treatment of shelter animals without which they may not be adopted, such as x-rays, blood work, surgeries and other procedures. Call the shelter for tickets or information at 468-4377. Come and join us for a “wicked” good time!

Now, as for taking dogs trick-or-treating, taking your dog out among a bunch of screaming kids dressed up in weird outfits may not work for some dogs. Some don’t care and they are calm and happy around people, even if they do look like little

Martians.

However, for some dogs, taking them out among the ghouls can be a living nightmare. For some dogs, the crowd and noise are overwhelming and the costumes are weird and threatening. My dog doesn’t recognize me dressed up and greets me with a low growl until I talk to him. Dogs that are skittish and have

not been exposed to lots of people lack confidence and often react negatively. Care should be taken to prevent an accident. If you have a dog and see a change in behavior with trick-or-treaters, taking him out or having him at your door while passing out candy are not good choices. It would be no fun if your dog bit a kid because he felt threatened. If you do have a dog that enjoys a crowd of masked kids, do not allow kids to greet your dog unexpectedly. Always have the dog on a leash. Not everyone appreciates a strange dog greeting them and dogs can quickly get disoriented with commotion. As far as chocolate goes, be careful Fido doesn’t get into the stash. Chocolate makes dogs sick.

On the subject of cats, we generally do not see cats dressed up going door to door, but they can get into trouble in other ways. Being nervous and elusive by nature, cats generally don’t

appreciate crowds of screaming kids and dressed up dogs. They may get spooked, literally, and end up hiding in places that are unsafe, like someone’s garage or shed and being locked in. Likewise, while we generally do not see nasty things being done to cats on Halloween, it is always a possibility. My advice is to keep the cat in for the night.

I hope everyone, and every dog and cat, has a happy and safe Halloween.